Defibrillator

The medical group in conjunction with the development company and with the possible funding from the charitable trust are purchasing a defibrillator which will be placed either at the Hall or the sports centre

Training will be given to a group of around 20 people at a time by the charity Lucky2Bhere who will be supplying the defib.

If you are interested in the training (it's free) please contact me to put your name on a list either on 01808 511235, or 07751 207235. A date has not been arranged yet as we are waiting on confirmation of funding .

Public Access defibrillators are usually only used for adult cardiac arrest. This is due to the different aetiology of cardiac arrest in children.

The following quotes may give you a little background information,

Defibrillators may be used in cardiac arrest in any age, indeed Sudden Cardiac Arrest is the leading cause of death in the over 40s age group in the United States and other countries (www.sca-aware.org). In the UK there are over 30,000 cardiac arrests a year outside hospital - in homes and in communities (www.bhf.org.uk) - and more than 1,500 Scots died after suffering a cardiac arrest outwith hospital in 2013 (news.scotland.gov.uk/news)

The Scottish government aim to save an additional 1,000 lives by the year 2020. By 2020 Scotland will be an International leader for out of hospital cardiac arrest outcomes (www.gov.scot/publications/2015/03/7484/4). It may be useful to have look at this website as it contains a lot of useful information.

The defibrillator is supplied with adult pads and the supporting L2BHere Basic Life support training is focused largely on adults.

On the training course we do discuss paediatric resuscitation and the differences between the two. I think we would advise anyone who was particularly interested in learning paediatric resuscitation to enrol on a specialist course.

In terms of mapping, as I understand it, the Scottish Ambulance will have a database with the locations for all the defibrillators in Scotland. In the event of a potential cardiac arrest call being received in one of the Emergency Dispatch Centres (Control centres) if it’s appropriate the caller will be notified of the location of the nearest defibrillator, they will also be given over the phone CPR guidance. The mapping element of this system is not fully operational at this time. There is also an AP available for mobile phones (www.heartsafe.org.uk) which gives the location for all public access defibrillators in the UK, however this obviously requires the availability of a mobile phone with the AP and also the various communities ensuring they have added their unit to the database so it is up to date.

The "Chain of Survival" can only be as strong as the weakest link in the chain, so all components need to be addressed. In order to deliver improved out of Hospital cardiac arrest a framework of seven themes has been identified. (www.resus.org.uk):

1. Early recognition

2. CPR

3. Defibrillation

4. Pre Hospital advanced life support

5. Post resuscitation care

6. Rehabilitation & Aftercare

7. Culture & Context

Every link in this chain is just as important as any other and the only links which can be influenced in the community are the first three, this is where the training package comes in. The training covers these vital components and hopefully addresses any fears the lay person may have which may otherwise result in them doing nothing for fear of doing something wrong.